Grand Finale: The Wedding Night
by Bluebird722
Summary: Finale rewrite. Jack and Ashi marry and experience their first night together as newlyweds. As she has no family to ease her worries, she finds comfort and advice in the words of a better woman: her mother-in-law. Jashi, fluff, wedding-night jitters, mentions of marriage consummation, and mother- and daughter-in-law bonding.


Yay, my first _Samurai Jack_ fic! I've been a fan since it aired when I was in first grade, and the fifth season was really something! Nevertheless, the finale had me, like most fans, in tears, and it's still a hard pill to swallow, even if it's been almost half a month ago. To make myself feel better, I'm publishing "therapeutic" stories about what his and Ashi's lives might have been like had she not vanished at the wedding. This was the first thing that I thought of, but I toned it from its original version to keep a T rating.

And yes, I do ship Jashi, but I was supporting the relationship regardless of whether or not it was a platonic father-daughter relationship or purely romantic. I might write father-daughter ones later.

Full of Jashi goodness, fluff, wedding-night jitters, and mother- and daughter-in-law bonding.

* * *

The Empress did not want to admit it, for fear of people saying it was "such a cliché" to say, but it was the happiest day of her life. To see her son happy, find someone to spend the rest of his life with, love someone so dearly, and marry was all she wanted for him, after so many years away from his parents, training and preparing for a deadly battle. The tension was still present in her chest—fear of losing her husband and son, of spending the rest of her life in hiding, and for her people—but her son's smile and optimism eased the pain.

It was a great wedding, the best way to, in her opinion, mark the end to the second rebuilding of the palace and kingdom. Friends and teachers from all over the world gathered to watch and congratulate her son for entering a new chapter in his life. The music and dancing went by so fast that the Empress forgot how long it took for her to watch her servants dress her soon-to-be-daughter-in-law to right now.

She and Ashi—a beautiful and great woman to call daughter-in-law, wife for her son—sat on the latter's bed. Servants helped Ashi out of her robes and into a snow-white kimono, her hair ornaments out, and her bangs over her forehead in its previous style. She refused to remove the lipstick, though she knew it might smear over her sheets, her husband, and herself.

The Empress saw the worry in Ashi's eyes in anticipation for the wedding night, what she used to call "the grand finale" of wedding days and ceremonies. She remembered her own wedding night, how her parents gave her some advice, and how her husband was hesitant to even try. Poor Ashi, however, to have no mother to calm or soothe her before she opened her legs for the first time.

The Empress reached out her hand and stroked Ashi's cheek. "You afraid?" she calmly asked.

Ashi lightly swallowed but nodded. "Somewhat."

The Empress moved her thumb around Ashi's cheekbone and ear. "It's scary, I remember, but know that he's nervous as well. He loves you and is worried about hurting you, giving you pain." She watched Ashi take her hands into her own and lightly smiled. For a fighter, Ashi really did have feelings and was afraid of her husband hurting her. "Remember this advice: Remember that he chose you. You're in no rush, especially to do it your first night, and focus more on the love between you. See what you like, what helps excite you, and concentrate on the please you get. It stops, if not prevents, the pain. You may or may not shed blood, but that depends on if you take time to help each other."

Ashi blinked. She didn't know what the Empress meant by that, but she tightened her grip on her mother-in-law's wrist. "Anything else?"

"You should expect each other to want to go slow, and he'll comply. It hurts him to see others in pain."

Ashi looked slightly more relieved, so the Empress scooted forward and carefully put her arms around her new daughter-in-law. She breathed in Ashi's scent, of cherry blossoms that she liked to visit and slide in her hair when it was warm. Ashi returned the embrace but could not bring herself to cry, even though she really wanted to. "Do not worry," the Empress said. "I have always wanted a daughter to love as much as my son. Tonight, I am pleased that the gods have blessed me with one."

Ashi's hand on the Empress's back sank into her flesh, and her chest began to hurt.

What broke them apart was the knocking on the door, followed by the Emperor's voice. "Are you all right?"

The Empress and Ashi stood up and approached the doors that the former opened. Her son wore a different black robe but was just as handsome as he always—and about as nervous as his new wife.

The Empress embraced her son while her husband squeezed their daughter-in-law's hands. The groom's hands were tight around his mother, and he kissed her forehead. "I love you, my son," she said.

He repeated the words of affection, and they departed. She gave Ashi one last loving look before she and her husband left the room. The newlyweds already came together, his arms tight around her waist. They watched as the Emperor and Empress closed the doors for them, their faces offering looks of happiness and comfort.

Once his parents left, Jack faced his bride, struggling to avoid biting her lips, and gently held her arms. "I love you," he whispered before he inched his face toward hers. It wasn't just following his father's advice, to reassure her of his love and promise to care for her—it was right out of his heart, even if he wasn't supposed to affirm his love.

Ashi finally let go of the tears that had been building up in her eyes and leaned forward for an eager kiss.

* * *

They were slow to undress each other, kissing as they untied stashes and maneuvering sleeves off shoulders and down arms. Once they were both naked, he lifted her in his arms, she crossed her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, and they let the passions that they did not explore or indulge in after fighting Lazarus-92 overpower them as he lowered them to the bed.

* * *

The newlyweds remained asleep in bed for almost the entire next day. Part of his hair was falling out of its pin, the strands stuck to his sticky shoulders and upper back. His back was red from nail marks and long scratches. His right arm was draped around her waist, with the bedsheet they shared pulled over her chest. Had she woken up, she would, in addition to feeling sore and intense pelvic pain, expose the numerous bite marks along both sides of her neck, both her shoulders, and her breasts. Her nipples were red and tender.

The husband woke up first but was reluctant to rub his eyes or sit up. He closed his eyes once more for thirty minutes until he slowly left his warm bed, kissed the back of her head, and whispered, "I love you." Then he pulled on his clothing from the night before and opened the door, where either a servant or one of his parents left outside a bowl of water with two cups and a loaf of bread, all on one tray. He drank a small amount of water and carried the tray into the room so he and Ashi could eat and drink together.

When she woke up, tender and aching all over, he helped her sit up to drink water and pulled her into his arms for morning kisses. Then he pulled her kimono over her body and carried her into the washing room for a late-afternoon bath. Had she not looked so tired, he would have asked if she would one day like to consummate their marriage and feelings in the water.

They were slow at first that night, as her pelvic area was killing her, but they now knew what helped the other relax, feel ready to make love, and reach a high.

* * *

The Empress was happy that, after one day of keeping to themselves, her son and his bride finally made an appearance, two days after the wedding. They still looked tired but fulfilled. As before the ceremony, they talked and laughed over morning tea, while the young couple cuddled close, his hand stroking her back and her hand on his knee.

While the men practiced combat training, the Emperor still in shape and his son able to fight even when exhausted and tender all over, their wives took a stroll around the fields as servants shaded them with umbrellas. The Empress smiled at Ashi, who looked happier than before she became a wife. "So how was it, the wedding night?" she had to ask.

Ashi lightly blushed. "Very lovely," she replied. "I took your advice, and it was the best night I've had so far." She pointed to the small river to show the Empress where she would like to sit, as she felt too tired to make her way to the cherry blossom tree.

It had taken the newlyweds a while to determine what worked for each other, what to kiss, bite, and suck on. It felt awkward at first, partially due to both feeling nervous at the same time, but at least the feelings gave way for them to engage in the act of lovemaking, to make sure both were enjoying themselves. He was slow to penetrate her, as his father warned him that being so quick would cause her to cry and give her pain, and it gave her discomfort at first, but he let her adapt to the sensation before they continued. They picked up the pace sometime later, and moved faster and rougher for the rest of the night.

With every climax, she had felt more beautiful than ever before, and he felt stronger. No matter how tired they became or made each other, they could not stop kissing and making love. It thrilled her to grab his bare back and arms, slide her feet down his calves, and hold as much loose hair between her fingers. She could see his eyes sparkle every time he kissed the swells of her breasts and down her neck, moved his hand down her side before holding onto her lower back, and lace his fingers between hers and tug her arm over her head while he moved in and out between even and uneven paces.

What briefly stopped them was her bursting into tears as he sucked on her nipples and rubbed his fingers against the flesh and sensitive bulb hidden under her lower dark curls. She meant to scream in pleasure, for the coiling in her stomach was still intense and building, but what came out was a cry of sorrow. He was stunned to see her weep, though she didn't know why until they paused to talk and caress each other. She later realized how happy she was to have this man in her life but also sorrow and regret for her late sisters who could never experience the joys of love or pleasure. He let her lament for the late daughters of his greatest enemy, and then she apologized for interrupting their night of passion, but he brushed it off and said that at least she could release her feelings for them in a healthy way. They stopped making love for an hour after that, just admiring each other in the moonlight, and caressing skin and faces. A comforted Ashi then found the courage to initiate it all over again until mere hours in the morning when they agreed to go to sleep and continue the following nights.

Ashi sat beside her mother-in-law while the latter gathered enough strands of grass to weave a hat. Her daughter-in-law breathed in the fresh air and took off her sandals to rub her feet. "Thank you again," she said, "for your comforting words. It made everything less scary."

The Empress set down her half-woven hat to pull Ashi toward her for a kiss to her head. "My pleasure," she whispered. "It does delight me that you even listened in the first place."

Ashi lightly chuckled. "Of course. And it delights me that you are the mother of my husband, as he had the better mother between him and me."

The Empress didn't know how to respond to that, as Ashi's recollections of her mother and the cult that "raised" her and her sisters were horrifying. Several times, The Empress cried in her sleep with thoughts of Ashi's brutal upbringing. At least Ashi could now find comfort and love in a real family.

* * *

There you have it! My first Samurai fic!

I want to continue writing more, but I don't know what to follow this with, so I've listed ideas that you can write in your reviews what you like best or even if you have a prompt idea:

1\. Events between episodes 7 and 8 of season 5 that build up the tension in episode 8 (e.g. Jack apologizing for killing her sisters, helping repair her dress, rubbing her feet)

2\. The Empress helping Ashi in childbirth, soothing her and reminding her that she will be a better mother than her own had ever been

3\. (AU) Meet the parents: Their fathers are business rivals, and Jack and Ashi become worried about meeting each other's parents

4\. Ashi helps the kingdom rebuild from ruins, and on "days of rest," the Empress takes her into preserved fields and teaches her to weave hats to protect the people from the sun. Sometimes Jack joins them to make hats and hold Ashi in his arms.


End file.
